Purpose: The primary purpose of a lab report is to communicate the results of experimental work. However, the main purpose of a laboratory notebook is to provide a permanent record of work done in the lab. Therefore the accurate running record of your work is more important than organized neatness. The information should be sufficiently specific and readable to allow (a) you to look back at a later time and know what you have done, (b) another person to reproduce your work, and (c) the instructor to evaluate what you have done.

Organization:

1. The organization of the notebook will be inherently chronological. That means that listing an entire procedure and then several different sets of experimental data makes no sense. The record should proceed as your lab work proceeds.
2. An overview of what you are doing is helpful at the beginning, partly for your own benefit. You should also record date and partner.
3. The experimental set-up should be described. In most cases this will involve circuit diagrams, program listings and a list of parts. Document the type and speed of the computer you are using and the compiler that was used to compile your program.
4. If measurements are made, the conditions must be specified clearly. (What did you measure? What did you use to measure it?) A common error is to record "we measured the voltage" in a situation where "voltage" could mean any of a number of possible voltages in the circuit.
5. All data should be written in ink as it is taken, and not transferred from other miscellaneous sheets of paper once you know the measurements are right. Mistakes should be corrected by annotating your data. The mistakes you make often contain information that is useful if the experiment is ever repeated.
6. If calculations are necessary, they should be described briefly.
7. In many cases, a circuit will be constructed that is then expected to operate in a particular way. Significant observations should be described, and any differences from expectations noted.
8. One of the most important entries in the lab notebook involves your interpretations of the results or observations. The lab work is useless unless it produces your thoughtful reflections on its significance. This is generally the only portion of the notebook that should be written after the completion of the experiments.

Accuracy: Some of the experiments involve numerical data and calculations. Since there is so much electronics and programming to deal with, there is insufficient time to devote to the mathematics of experimental uncertainty and precision of measurement. But you should be aware of uncertainty at least in terms of using an appropriate number of significant figures in data and calculations. And use correct units!

Final note: Think when writing. Try not to put too much emphasis on the note-book (spending extra time re-writing entries), but do not put too little emphasis either, to the point of leaving a reader (including yourself) mystified later.

These specifications were adapted from the lab notebook specification written by Ken Laws for Physics 213 - Electronics.